For computer enthusiasts, there's been an age-old debate that dates back to the days when we
were forced to carry our bits and bytes by hand, uphill both ways, in the freezing cold and
feed them manually into a 9600 Baud modem. The argument starts like this: Which is better - AMD or Intel? From there you can bet
opinions differ strongly.The real answer has changed over the years, depending on who you talk to and depending on
what you want from your computer. It almost always comes down to which CPU offers the best
performance for the kind of work you do, and how well the computer will stand up over the
coming months.
Processors are certainly the most critical part of a computer, but they hardly work alone.
It's nearly impossible to legitimately answer the AMD vs. Intel question without heavily
considering the different platforms supporting each CPU, and by extension the features you
get with one path and lose by not adopting its nemesis. "Intel or AMD?" is a question we're asked all the time at PCSTATS, and a question that's
echoed in computer stores from here to London, and fought on the battlegrounds of countless
forums… Well, forget everything you've read before, I have the final, ultimate solution to
the Big Green vs. Chipzilla battle royal! By the end of this article I'm going to tell which
CPU is better, and that knowledge may save you from buying into dead, dying, and prematurely
obsolete processor technology. Atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed, let's begin!Round one: AMD vs. Intel - The Mainstream Choice When your budget is tight and computer requirements easily satisfied by a mainstream desktop
system, answering the AMD vs. Intel question starts something like this: What's the least
expensive CPU with the most value, and are the platforms for that CPU stacked full of
features? In other words, what's the best bang for buck?Hands down, for mainstream PC needs the answer is AMD. The AMD Athlon64 X2 4850e that is,
and for under $90 bucks it's hard to beat when paired with an AMD 780G based motherboard.Before you go screaming to the PCSTATS feedback page, here's why we picked AMD for our
mainstream CPU choice right now.
Technically, the most economical Intel and AMD CPUs on the market are both suitable for
users building budget PCs in the sub-$500 category. Each CPU family is pretty inexpensive,
power-efficient, works with affordable DDR2 memory and can be found in dual and single-core
varieties. The choice gets complicated once you factor in the motherboard platform. Intel's
integrated video chipsets cost more and offer less value than equivalent AMD integrated
boards, while nvidia's recent core logic is simply hard to find.Let's take two hypothetical mainstream PCs and compare them so you can see what I mean when
I say AMD is the better buy in this instance.AMD's popular 780G chipset is ideal for budget-conscious buyers because it offers decent
integrated graphics care of the built-in Radeon 3200 GPU. It supports Hybrid Crossfire if
you crave better 3D gaming down the road. Cost wise, it's hard to beat an AMD 780G-based
motherboard like the Asus M3A78-EM (about $100 CDN), paired with the Athlon64 X2 4850e chip.
The AMD 780G and even the newer 790GX variant will get you High Definition home theatre
without any extra cost. That means HDMI output at 1080p with HDCP compliance, 8-channel
audio, gigabit Ethernet and a compact micro-ATX board size to squeeze in (quietly) next to
your stereo
Given the shift away from stand alone DVD players and VCRs to downloaded digital content,
why on earth would anyone want a computer they can't hook up to their television? Right?The slightly more expensive AMD 790GX chipset basically just has a faster graphics processor
which is a little better suited to gaming, though it is still "integrated video". This speed
bump isn't worth the extra $80 AMD is asking - that money would be better spent on a Radeon
4650, which would easily outperform a 790GX motherboard.
While its gaming performance isn't quite powerful enough to run graphics showcases like
Crysis, AMD's 780G integrated Radeon 3200 GPU is capable of smacking around Intel's GMA
X4500 HD in World of Warcraft or Call of Duty 4. So there's that too.In fact, Intel doesn't have a whole lot to offer those seeking out a motherboard for under
$100. Boards based on the Intel G45 Express chipset, like the Asus P5Q-EM are available for
about $140, have similar features to the AMD 780G, but lack comparable integrated graphics.
The anemic 3D performance offered by Intel's integrated GMA X4500 HD graphics processor
makes even low-end gaming a frustrating, lackluster experience. Where High Definition
content is concerned, both Intel and AMD platforms fair similarly in terms of HD video
quality, so in that respect you could argue CPU overhead, or just acknowledge that each
plays HD video just fine.
Fortunately for Intel users, there is a third, albeit untested option - the nvidia GeForce
9300 chipset. This isn't a discrete graphics card, as the name might imply, rather it's a
new integrated graphics core. The GeForce 9300 puts up better performance in 3D graphics
than Intel's GMA X4500 HD, in some cases slightly faster than AMD's 780G and 790GX
platforms, but boards built on it are still relatively scarce.
I'd be remiss not to mention Intel's abundance of cheap and cheaper processors. The Intel
Pentium Dual Core E2200 is roughly equivalent to AMD's socket AM2 Athlon64 X2 4850e in both
performance and price. Both CPUs cost around $100, have 1MB L2 cache, are built on the 65nm
processes and run at a native 800MHz bus speed. The Athlon64 X2 4850e is clocked at 2.5GHz,
while the Pentium Dual Core E2200 runs at 2.2GHz, but in real world situations both
processors provide nearly identical performance.
The bottom line is this. Where mainstream computer requirements are concerned, an AMD CPU
and AMD 780G based motherboard just offer more value when weighed against a comparable Intel
CPU and Intel G45 motherboard. Comparing the chips alone is another argument entirely, but
remember it's not as if you can use a CPU without a motherboard!Round two is next, this time PCSTATS tosses two chips into the gaming arena, and only one
will be coming out.